Japanese and US museums linked by the kamikaze attacks of World War Two have formed a sister partnership 75 years after the end of the war.
The Chiran Peace Museum in Japan and the Battleship Missouri Memorial held a virtual signing ceremony on Saturday, the day Japan commemorates the end of the war.
People in Japan are commemorating the end of World War Two -- 75 years on. A government-organized ceremony was held in Tokyo on Saturday to honor those who died in the war.
About 550 people attended the event held every August 15th. The number this year was the smallest ever because of the coronavirus. Attendance was less than one-tenth of last year's.
A private research firm says 52 listed companies in Japan have offered early or voluntary retirement programs to employees so far this year.
Tokyo Shoko Research says the offers were made to a total of 9,323 employees between January 1 and August 13. It also says offers have surged since last month due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
People in Japan are observing a solemn 75th anniversary on Saturday, August 15, the day the country marks the end of World War Two and offers prayers for peace.
This year's events and rallies to mark the occasion across the country are being held with due precautions amid the continuing spread of the coronavirus.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it confirmed 389 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday.
It's the first time in 5 days that the daily tally of infections has risen above 300. More than half of the new cases are people in their 20s and 30s. Tokyo has 14 million people. Total cases in the capital now exceed 17,000.
Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has called on the central government to help ensure that the capital can provide sufficient medical care for coronavirus patients.
Koike on Friday held talks separately with the minister in charge of the coronavirus response, Nishimura Yasutoshi, and with health minister Kato Katsunobu.
People who lost family members in World War Two have visited a national cemetery in central Tokyo before Japan marks the end of the war on Saturday.
The government holds an annual ceremony to mourn the war dead on August 15. This year, the number of participants will be significantly reduced due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa has raised its alert over coronavirus infections to the highest of its four levels, and has extended the period of its state of emergency.
Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny made the announcement on Thursday evening after a meeting with his government's officials. They discussed the prefecture's response to the coronavirus infections that show no signs of receding.
The Japanese government plans to offer subsidies to universities and research institutes that allow their equipment to be used for PCR tests.
The education and science ministry says that as of early August, 71 university hospitals and 27 universities and research institutes across the country had equipment that would allow up to 4,400 PCR tests to be conducted per day.